Club has bright idea to grow grass

13 March 2013 03:46

English football club Notts County are using heat lamps confiscated in police raids on illegal cannabis farms to help maintain their pitch, British media reported on Wednesday.

The equipment, seized by Nottinghamshire Police, is being deployed on lighting rigs to heat up the soil and assist the regrowth of grass on the club's Meadow Lane pitch during the cold winter months.

"This property would normally be crushed, so it is important it gets reused and a lot of people are getting the benefit from it," Superintendent Mark Holland was quoted as saying on the BBC website.

University students in the city in central England have been involved in the design and construction of the rigs, which also use wheels donated by a local golf club and recycled goal posts.

The stadium manager at Meadow Lane, Greg Smith, said new lighting rigs normally cost between £10,000 and £15,000 ($14,900 to $22,300, 11,400 to 17,100 euros), so the makeshift scheme was cost-effective.

"We have both sports at the club, football and rugby, and we've got a main stand that doesn't allow the light in during the winter," he added.

"So, we can have them from the start of October through to the end of February, hopefully growing grass for us."

Notts County are currently mid-table in the third-tier League One of English football. Meadow Lane is a stone's throw across the River Trent from second-tier Championship rivals Nottingham Forest's City Ground.

The ground is shared with Nottingham Rugby, who play in the second-tier of the English Championship.